


Dust and Gold

by RavenLynthorn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Themes, Hope, Identity Reveal, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Original Akuma (Miraculous Ladybug), Original Artwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-19 13:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29999742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenLynthorn/pseuds/RavenLynthorn
Summary: After six years of masquerading as Paris’s heroine, Marinette felt assured in her ability to face the world with her partner by her side. When an akuma threatens to undo the fabric holding her world in place, Marinette soon realizes how quickly life can unravel, and how much she depends on the ally and friend who is always there when it comes undone.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read my first ML fanfiction. It has been some years since I have dabbled in creative writing, so constructive feedback is always welcome. 
> 
> A few notes before diving in:
> 
> ~This story has heavy themes of loss and grief. If the reader is sensitive and/or may trigger by reading descriptor events related to loss, I advise not to continue.
> 
> ~This story is written under the basis that the kwami can see and hear what is occurring while transformed.
> 
> ~This story is written after season three and may contain spoilers for the reader who is not caught-up with the show.
> 
> ~Grammar is my bane. If any glaring grammatical errors are found that disrupt the story, kindly let me know. 
> 
> ~The story will be updated weekly on Friday’s (if not sooner).
> 
> *This story is inspired by the plot and characters developed by Jeremy Zag, Thomas Astruc and Nathanaël Bronn. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

**Paris, France**

**October 15th**

**14:30**

Thirty-days, fourteen-hours, and thirty-minutes.

With red-rimmed eyes, Marinette stared at the blurring words in front of her. Faces and names seemed to run into one another as tears threatened to fall. 

Marinette felt a slight weight on her cheek as Tikki touched a comforting paw to her face. She felt undeserving of her friend’s warmth.

Ladybug had embraced the peril with arrogant confidence. She had been presumptuous and assuming in her judgment. In hindsight, Marinette couldn’t imagine life any other way. Ladybug always triumphed. Her certainty always reaffirmed in victory. How could she have imagined..?

“We’ll get him back, Marinette,” Tikki reasoned. Marinette had lost confidence in those words after day ten. At day twenty, she had fought the endless ache and hopelessness often accompanying the realities of misery and failure. Now, she was numb. 

“I know,” Marinette said, her words empty.

With nothing else to say to her kind companion of six years, Marinette stroked the top of Tikki’s head before shifting her mind back to her make-shift evidence wall. 

Thirty-days, fourteen-hours, and thirty-five minutes


	2. The Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning.

**Paris, France**

**September 12th**

**08:35**

The akuma alert spurred Marinette into swift motion as she darted from her university by a feeble excuse from her lips. With assurance and ease, she transformed in the nearest alley and then soared with the wind toward the threat, only irritated with the interruption to her morning. Her partner joined her after she landed on a roof near the akuma’s presumed location. 

“My Lady,” he purred with a cocky grin while tilting his head. 

With mocked irritation, she huffed a brisk greeting, “Chat.”

“What’s the plan?”

“From what I understand, the akuma has not moved from his first sited location. Let’s do what we do best, Kitty, and wrap this up.”

With a modest tilt to his lips, Chat spoke with a rumble, “As you wish, M’ Lady.”

Without a hitch, they leaped toward the open cemetery below them and spotted the akuma. 

The akuma wore a black, knee-length trench coat with undertones of deep crimson. His skin was stark white against the contrasting attire. His shoulder-length, jet black hair pulled into a knot at the nape of his neck with a vivid gold ribbon. He stood at the side of a tombstone with his head down. He did not spare the heroes a glance as they approached, his fingers tracing the engraving on the stone. They observed him as he remained silent. Ladybug shared a look with Chat before approaching the silent villain. 

The rolling of gravel and rock under Ladybug’s feet caused the akuma to glance up at the duo. His bloodshot eyes induced a chill down Ladybug’s spine as she froze not five-feet away from him. A purple mask appeared over the villain’s face, showing Papillion’s presence, but the akuma remained unmoved as he stared at Ladybug. 

Ladybug stood stiff in stunned shock at the villain’s crimson soaked eyes. The vivid red stained the entire sclera, making his iris unseeable. Noticing Ladybug’s discomfort, Chat sought to distract the akuma with an obnoxious pun and ill-timed joke. Later, Marinette will wish she could remember his exact words. 

The villain remained undeterred in his unwavering attention towards Ladybug. Ladybug felt an unease creep under her skin as he stared at her. She felt the impression of hollow death fall upon her as the villain’s gaze did not move.

With exacerbation, Chat stepped closer to the akuma in another attempt to grab his attention. Ladybug felt anxiety stab her as the akuma changed his stance without moving his eyes from her. His body seemed to guard the gravestone next to him to prevent Chat from coming within proximity. It was then that Ladybug noticed the gold pocket watch in the akumas’ pale grasp. The understanding that the watch might be the akumatized item must have crossed Chat’s mind in the same second it had crossed Ladybug’s because, without hesitation, Chat leaped into the antihero’s zone to snag it. The nameless akuma saw the flicker of movement from Chat and, with a speed only born from the power given by Papillion, tapped the face of his golden watch before Chat could reach it. 

It was a stillness Marinette will remember for the rest of her life. Later, Paris citizens would move to enforce a public day of remembrance each year as a way of commemorating the gift of life… and how they should not take it for granted. For, in that one terrible moment of stillness, life ceased. 

The air stopped flowing as the shrilling silence rang in Ladybug’s ears. She grappled to take in oxygen as a weighted pressure burdened her chest. Her eyes moved to Chat, and she watched the panic cover his features as he looked at her with scared confusion. Her hand flew to her throat as her eyes bulged with fear, the lack of air clear as her body fought to fill her lungs. Ladybug’s eyes landed on the akuma once more. His bloodshot eyes continued to stare at Ladybug with an empty presence. A mounting pressure built in her skull. Panic rose in her veins, her mind frantic, attempting to conjure up a solution.

Then, within seconds, the pressure vanished. The relief was instant. 

Sucking in a rattled breath, Ladybug held a hand to her chest as she stared back at the akuma in bewilderment. She could hear Chat’s strangled, distant breaths beside her as the blood rushed in her ears. The akuma’s chilling gaze stayed on her.

Then, with a graveled, hollow whisper, he asked Ladybug, “Do you know what it is to lose?” 

His eyes never leaving hers, Ladybug struggled to process his words as the lack of oxygen made her speed of thought sluggish. 

Suddenly, a chilled breeze kissed her cheeks before she watched in horror as the akuma’s body disintegrated. His black loafers turned into a particle as small as dust before it evaporated into the atmosphere. The disintegration traveled up his frame. First, it moved up his black slacks, edging toward the bottom of his trench coat. Then, it devoured his waist, shoulders, neck, and pale cheeks. Finally, it took the last of his jet black mane. The entire process lasted a grueling thirty seconds before his full body had vanished into nothingness. Yet, just before his throat dissolved, he spoke words to Ladybug that echoed a threatening promise in the wind. 

“You will know.”

~*~

After the initial panic and disorientation ran its course, Ladybug spent several hours with her partner searching for the nameless villain and strategizing over his ability and purpose. 

“I don’t understand, Chat. What did he do? Is there anything unusual?”

With uncertainty and somber seriousness, Chat said, “I’m not sure, LB. Maybe his aim was to create fear and panic.”

“But, his body evaporated! What could that mean? He didn’t even attempt to grab our miraculous!”

Akumas like to showcase their reason for terrorizing Paris. And, every akuma they’d encountered previously made some effort to either grab their miraculous or threaten to. They would showcase their new identity, one that separated them from their non-akumatized self, by announcing their new name and purpose. 

With a resigned sigh, Chat said, “I know, Ladybug. But, we will figure this out. We always do.”

He held her hand as he spoke and granted her an expression of warmth. Ladybug’s heart stirred, but she discounted it. 

Still, she appreciated how Chat was taking extra care with her after they had searched the alleys and raced over rooftops to no avail for the hidden akuma. His exhaustion was clear in how his body slumped and his movements were sloppy. She squeezed his hand to acknowledge his words before looking out over the landscape of Paris, her eyes roaming for a character in black.

Chat remained silent beside her, his palm warm and consoling. Ladybug felt gratitude for his presence and words of encouragement. Her greatest ally and friend had burrowed himself deep into her heart, so deep that she’d remain unaware of his presence there until it was too late. 

Ladybug briefly rubbed Chats hand with her thumb before pulling away. The sun was setting and the emotional and physical exhaustion was hitting her more now that they had stopped moving. 

“Why don’t we call it a night, My Lady. We can meet again tomorrow morning and start brainstorming if the akuma doesn’t bring us together before then,” Chat breathed, his eyes glistening from the sun’s reflective light. 

With reluctance, Ladybug agreed with her partner and bid him farewell. With sluggish limbs, Ladybug made her way home, thoughts of talking with Tikki filling her with anticipation.

After she released her transformation, Tikki looked forlorn and worried. 

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Tikki said in a whispered anxiety. “The motive of this akuma differs from those you have faced before, Marinette. It seems to run deeper than some superficial desire or wrong-doing. We need to be careful with how we approach him.” 

Before Marinette could reply, the broadcast from the television below echoed up to her room with words that startled Marinette into motion.

“-residents are in shock as individuals have evaporated into thin air! An anonymous witness claimed to have seen a man clad in black facing off with Ladybug and Chat Noir just before The Wave hit. Witnesses say that just moments after the encounter, people began dissolving into nothing! No one can estimate where they have gone or who is next. We can only hope that Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat the akuma so we can reunite with those we cherish.” 

The no-name akuma had not been the only individual to dissipate into the air? 

“Tikki, what do you think this means?”

Several seconds passed before Tikki softly spoke, “I think the akuma somehow dominates the future of specific people.” 

“What do you mean?”

There was another interval before Tikki somberly said, “I felt an alteration when the akuma touched his watch. Somehow, the akuma has the power to control the elemental features making up a life. He is erasing people’s futures from existence.”

There was a heavy silence that followed her words. After a pause, Marinette turned and ran back to her bedroom, Tikki on her heels. The kwami seemed to understand her holder’s intention when Marinette pulled a ladybug-themed shell from a compartment she created in her closet. With an unease like none Marinette has ever experienced attacking her, she rushed to open the case holding the miraculous objects. 

Pulling on the Turtle Miraculous, a bracelet, she watched Wayzz appear. The green kwami looked concerned as he shared a look with Tikki. 

After filling in the turtle kwami on the newest akuma, Marinette listened as Wayzz repeated Tikki’s earlier sentiments. Marinette felt horror at the implications of this information.

“So, the akuma can just manipulate who lives and who dies?!”

Tikki cut in, “Yes and no. We don’t know if he has control over who disappears and we don’t know his limits. This is something we can figure out. You can fix it! It isn’t permanent! He isn’t a god, he is only borrowing time and power from Papillion.”

Marinette was quiet as she processed Tikki’s words. After a moment, she said, “But, for now, the people who have disappeared no longer exist until we apprehend the akuma and release the cure?”

Somberly, Tikki said, “Yes, Marinette. He erased their future from existence. Once we defeat him, those he touched will have their future restored.”

With an exhale, Marinette said, “What will we report if people demanded answers? It is not as though Ladybug can say to the public that the individuals who disappeared, the people they know and love, no longer exist! That would generate a type of public panic like no other we’ve had to endure.”

Wayzee cut in, “That’s true. Still, you can share the truth without being severe. If they inquire, tell the public that you and Chat Noir will do your best to deliver back those they love by defeating the akuma. Ladybug can restore this.”

Exhaling, Marinette said, “Wayzz, what do you think Master Fu would do in this situation.”

Wayzz’s features were understanding as he looked at the young guardian. 

“Marinette, Master Fu would likely say what I am about to say. You are a wonderful Ladybug! You and Chat Noir have become incredibly in sync throughout the years which have improved your teamwork and decreased the time spent fighting akuma’s. I have faith you will overcome this challenge.”

With a deep breath, Marinette thanked the kwami for his kind words and hoped with securities of past victories that they would overthrow the akuma fast. Master Fu has always had a strong faith in her and her partners abilities, even at the age of thirteen. She can only hope she will do him justice as the guardian and holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. Still, even with the false assurances she recited to herself, the unease and hollow imprint of the akuma remained with her well into the night. 

~*~

Papillon lurked in his cave of white butterflies as he examined the events of the day. 

Nathalie stood behind him in silent support before asking, “Sir, are you sure about this?”

Looking out across the landscape displayed through the oval window, Papillion stood ridged, brooding in the depths of his plan. After a moment, Papillion looked at Nathalie with red-rimmed eyes. 

Desperation, bitterness, and despair leaked into his next words as they echoed among fluttering white wings.

“She will know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this story is inspired by Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: End Game.


	3. Second Wave

****

* * *

**Paris, France**

**September 13th**

**04:46**

Marinette awoke with a start at the familiar sense of pressure weighing on her lungs. She sat up on her bed in the darkness of her bedroom, her hands frantically digging at her throat. And, just as before, the relief from the pressure enveloped her seconds later, allowing her to take in big gulps of air. Tikki flew around her face in frantic gestures, but the pressure plugging Marinette’s ears dulled her remarks. 

“Marinette! Can you hear me?! It happened! I felt the shift in the air,” Tikki’s soprano voice expressed in a rush as she flapped her paws rapidly in the air. 

Marinette groaned before getting down from her bed and turning on the light. Tikki remained near her but stopped speaking, watching Marinette ground herself as she continued breathing deep. A resounding crash echoed from the lower level caused Marinette to jump in startlement. 

Quickly meeting eyes with Tikki with alarm and concern, Marinette rushed her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where a light brightened the surroundings. 

Her maman and papa were in the kitchen making breakfast when her maman noticed her.

“Marinette! Are you okay?! Did you feel it too?” 

Marinette inhaled a breath of relief as she took in the semi-frantic, but ordinary display of her parents before her. Releasing her anxiety, Marinette made words to respond but stopped when she met her papa’s eyes. The unease that followed her since the encounter with the akuma seemed to encase Marinette at that moment as the chilling reality of the situation processed in her mind. 

His boots lightly coated with flour became fine particles that floated into the air before they ceased existing. Marinette watched in stunned horror as the well-worn apron wrapped around his waist dissolved into nothingness. She faintly heard her maman shout her papa’s name, but became transfixed on her papa’s face. Fear and disorientation caused his eyebrows to furrow and his eyes to enlarge. His nose flared as he gasped in terror, his eyes meeting theirs, pleading and fearful. Just before his beard and lips vanished, his last words escaped in a breath as his eyes shifted between his girls.

“My loves…”

Then he disappeared. 

There had been a moment of silence before her maman collapsed onto the kitchen floor. The dread and denial ripped at Marinette’s heart as her mind reeled. Marinette could feel Tikki’s reassuring paws at the back of her neck, as if to remind her that this nightmare was temporary, but her heart proceeded to ache. Her body moved in numbing motions toward her maman and she collapsed beside her. Without thought, Marinette wrapped her arms around her maman’s waist as she used to when a child and let out a silent cry. Seeing the fear on her papa’s face and the devastation of her maman’s shock was enough to make her want to sob for weeks, no matter how fixable the situation.

A few moments passed between them with shuttered breaths and disbelieving murmurs. Marinette’s eyes squeezed shut as tears leaked from them and she grasped onto her maman’s warmth. Suddenly, to her infinite horror, Marinette felt the warmth leave her skin in a rippling motion. Her eyes shot open to find her maman’s stomach gone. 

Marinette let out a strangled, “No!”

~*~

Sabine held her eyes closed in her disbelief and anguish. Her beautiful and kind husband, gone. And worst, he had been afraid. There were things she had wanted to say! Why hadn’t she said to them sooner?

Why had she waited to give him the gift she has stored in their closet? He would have had such joy from it, she knows. His joy, his smile, his puns…

Sabine felt her heart ache from the shock. He’d just disappeared! Just like those families on thenews. What would she do? There has to be a way to fix this. Ladybug can fix this. It’s an akuma, of course, Ladybug can fix this! He’ll be back! Ladybug can-

Her daughter’s resounding cry cut off her thoughts. She peeked at Marinette and reached her hand out to cup her face. It was a startling realization when her fingers crumbed into the air, leaving the warmth of her daughter’s delicate cheek. 

Sabine processed the situation, and understanding almost destroyed her. She was about to leave her daughter alone. 

Speaking in desperation, she hurriedly said, “Listen to me, Marinette. Your papa and I love you so much! This is not permanent. This is an akuma’s doing. Ladybug will fix it, my love. Everything will be back as it should be and we will be together again. I love y-” Sabine’s words cut short as her neck dissolved, cutting off her vocal cords. Sabine felt a tear fell from her eyes as she watched her daughter’s grief-stricken face.

Still so much to say… 

How will they make up for this time lost?

It was with a sorrowful heart that she watched her daughter’s tears fall, helpless to wipe them away before she was blanketed in blackness. 

~*~

Marinette watched the tear from her maman’s eye fall as the last of her faded. A tiny puddle formed on the kitchen floor where the tear landed, the only thing to remain of her maman as it glistened from the kitchen’s illuminating light. 

Panic gripped her throat painfully while tears obscured her vision in incredulity. She heard Tikki’s soft reassuring voice beside her, but she fell victim to the suffocating pain assaulting her heart. 

“Tikki,” Marinette’s hoarse voice gargled. Marinette felt the reassuring weight of her friend below her right ear. With her companion close by, Marinette gave into her shocked grief as she moaned out her unspeakable pain, curled in a small ball on her cool kitchen floor.

~*~

The sorrow and anger had paralyzed her. She had cried out her sadness, fear, and frustration as her empathetic kwami listened with understanding. Marinette understood the momentary nature of this new reality. It was the only thing keeping her from breaking down from the loss. There was still hope… Yet, the experience would remain with her. Watching her parents disappear before her very eyes, understanding the power that the akuma possessed, not perceiving how long she would be without her parents, unsure how she would defeat this akuma, if she even could… No, she needed to stop where her thoughts were going. She must remain hopeful.

Tikki remained silent by her chosen’s face as she did her best to soak up the tears with grabbed tissues. Marinette doesn’t know how long she stayed on the floor. The minutes were a blur. 

Eventually, with Tikki’s direction, Marinette moved in slow motions. 

Get off the floor. 

Turned off the stove. 

Turn off the oven. 

Store the exposed food. 

Contact Chat Noir. 

~*~

When Ladybug landed beside his stooped form minutes after contacting him, she had known his heart throbbed with a pain as sharp as hers. They shared an empathetic look before drawing one another in a fierce hug. Ladybug shivered as her lungs tried to take in each breath. Chat burrowed his head into her neck and shoulder as tears cascaded down his face. Ladybug began stroking his hair in desperate attempts to comfort them both as Chat sniffled intermittently.

“You too,” his gravel voice queried.

“Yeah. My parents.”

His grip tightened around her in response. Within the safe confines of his arms, Ladybug shared what Tikki and Wayzz had to say regarding the akuma and what she had heard from the news broadcast the preceding evening.

“Plagg said something similar. It seems they don’t suffer from the same side effects we do when the shift happens.”

Chat paused for a moment before he continued in a tone of unbelief, “You know, my head felt ready to explode and all Plagg felt was, and I quote,”- Chat rose his voice an octave above his usual barton as he mimicked Plagg’s words- “a trivial change in the air, comparable to the sophisticated taste variances in diverse ages of cheese.” Chat huffed and then said with a grumble, “Like I would know the subtle taste differences in aged cheese. He knows I can’t stand that stuff thanks to his grubby paws.”

Ladybug couldn’t help the light smile that graced her lips. Hearing the interactions between Chat and his kwami had become one of her favorite subjects when they met for patrol. Chat and Plagg’s relationship was playful and endearing, while she and Tikki’s relationship was more gentle and sweet.

“I am surprised at you, Kitty. Do you mean to tell me you don’t spend your hours sampling the refinement of aged cheese?” Ladybug gave a dramatic sigh before continuing, “I guess it is a luxury only recognized by a honed and perceptive soul.” 

She knew Plagg would appreciate the comment and would likely use it in the future to get under Chat’s skin. Chat seemed to know this because he gave her a look of utter betrayal before saying, “I can’t believe you just said that. Do you know how many times Plagg uses your exact phrasing to pester me?!”

In another Plagg impression, Chat mocked, “You know, Ladybug appreciates my _refined_ taste in cheese. She understands how _delectable_ it is.” 

Ladybug’s heart lighted at the memory of her saying that exact phrase to Chat only for Plagg to use it to justify his refined and expensive demands. Softly smiling, Ladybug moved her head so she could look more fully at his tear-splotched face. His lips trembled though he was doing his best to ease the mood for her. Ladybug placed her hand on Chat’s face, wiping a stray tear, before saying with a twinkle in her eye, “I do, Kitty. And I live for it.”

He smiled at her, the edges of his eyes crinkling slightly, before leaning his forehead to rest on hers. Ladybug saw a stray tear escape before he quickly wiped it away. She caresses his cheek, wiping the lingering tears from his cheek before moving to rub behind his cat ears. A quiet purr rumbled from his chest, and Ladybug closed her eyes in affection for her partner. She felt a deep sadness weight on her heart while she listened to him contend for composure. Before long, Chat moved his forehead from hers, placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, before resting his head on her shoulder with a shuddering breath. Ladybugs hands moved to accommodate their new position, kneading the back of Chat’s neck and shoulders while holding him close.

Later, Marinette would long for his warmth and comfort. Yet, at that moment, Ladybug bathed in the tenderness between them; a joyous peace that was often present with her partner close by.

~*~

Papillion felt his fists clenched tightly with rage and frustration. 

“Sir,” Nathalie said softly. 

“It’s not enough,” his gravel voice said. 

Closing his eyes, he narrowed his focus and remembered his goal. Looking back toward Nathalie’s silent, grave figure, he shared a moment of acknowledgment with her before turning to look over the landscape of Paris.

Desperation clawed through him from within as the seconds passed. After a moment, he whispered, “We must continue.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the idea for this story came to me in a dream


End file.
